Chapter 26: Salvation

Chapter 26:
Salvation

 

I WAS NOT A normal person. I had known that for as long as I could remember. I was subject to terrible bouts of unbearable pain that took over my whole body—sometimes they felt like an electric jolt, and sometimes they were more of a dull, throbbing ache that lasted forever. But the pain I hated the most was when it felt like my heart was being crushed. It became hard to breathe, and tears always spilled from my eyes. My symptoms were strange and physically undiagnosable. It wasn’t until I had my skills appraised as a child that the cause became apparent—the Sixteenth Year Death Curse.

“Maria, Daddy promises he’ll find a way to cure you.”

Despite all my suffering, I was blessed with a wonderful family and, as the daughter of a duke, was afforded every comfort and kindness. Many people worked tirelessly to lift my curse and, in the course of their research, the cause was discovered. Over two hundred years ago, one of my ancestors defeated a sorcerer and was cursed to have their descendants suffer. Curiously, both my father and elder brother were fine. Only I bore the burden of suffering.

On the eve of my sixteenth birthday, I crept downstairs and heard my parents and brother talking about me.

“But there’s no more time…”

“Ah, I would trade places with her if I could!”

“L-Let’s search overseas to find someone, anyone who could help.”

Their distress was just one further stab to my heart. I only had a year left to live. My family even reached out to the royal family to collect a number of experts, but not a single one of them could lift my curse.

“Why me? I don’t want to die…”

I was so scared to turn sixteen that I cried until the sun came up. But it also gave me the confidence to make a decision.

“I want to take the Hero Academy entrance exam,” I announced over breakfast, much to the shock of my family.

They thought I should focus on treatment but, this once, I wouldn’t back down.

“If my ailment is cured, it would be most inappropriate for me to remain unemployed. So, I am going to the Hero Academy, and I will find a cure for myself.”

My family respected my decision but, in reality, they had probably given up hope. In a way, I had to. I couldn’t run from the curse. If I was going to die, I wanted to spend what time I had left living my life to the fullest!

My dear friend Amane expressed a similar desire to attend the academy, so we took the exam together. There, we were surprised to witness two things. Firstly, a team who achieved an incredibly high score in the first round, comprised of Mr. Noir, Miss Emma, and Lady Lenore. And secondly, the very same Mr. Noir, who fired a Stone Bullet that was much smaller than normal.

Though I had been cursed, I had received a superb education. One of my tutors had been especially learned in the field of magic. They told me: “Stone Bullet isn’t very commonly used because it always generates the same size projectile, no matter who uses it. And it doesn’t inflict very much damage.”

“I see.”

“Although, two hundred years ago, there was an adventurer named Olivia who somehow had the ability to fire anything from boulders to pebbles.”

“How did she manage that?”

“She had learned a skill called Editor.”

“Then perhaps she has descendants…”

“She disappeared before she ever married.”

“Oh…”

At the time, I thought that perhaps if a skill could be edited, then my curse might be lifted. That tiny ray of hope was immediately dashed. It was hopeless. Or at least, that’s what I thought until I saw Mr. Noir at the entrance exam. It rekindled a faint hope in my heart—could he have the Editor skill? With the score he achieved in the first round, he had to be special.

I had to talk to him, but it would be quite rude of me to address him out of the blue, so I held my tongue. However, luck was on my side. Only a few days later, I happened upon Mr. Noir and Miss Emma. I felt a bit remiss interrupting them in what appeared to be an intimate moment, but I steeled my heart and was finally able to speak to him—though ultimately, my courage failed me, and I could not ask.

I yet intended to eventually inquire about the Editor skill, but for the following few days I was battling excruciating pain. I could barely take food and simply walking made my chest ache. Nonetheless, I returned to class in the hope of finding another opportunity to ask Mr. Noir about his skills.

“Haah, haah, it hurts…so much…”

I couldn’t even leave the stairwell. For all I knew, this day might be my last. I was so scared. I felt like crying. But then, almost as if the gods had smiled on me, Mr. Noir and Miss Emma came down the hall. And that wasn’t the end to the good news.

“Mr. Noir, Miss Emma, I am so terribly sorry. I am always causing you two trouble.”

“It’s really because of your curse skill, isn’t it?”

“How do you…?”

Somehow, Mr. Noir already knew everything, before I even said a word. He knew what kind of curse it was, he knew its effects, and he was planning to expend his own life force to free me. We had only met but a few times, but he wanted to help me. No words could express my gratitude.

 

***

 

Mr. Noir said he would be by after class, so I erred on the side of caution and returned home. I lay in bed and closed my eyes, my heart still aching. But I wasn’t sure if this pain was caused by the curse.

I just couldn’t sit still. Despite the pain in my chest, I went down into the living room and gazed out the window.

“My Lady, are you waiting for someone?” asked our family butler.

He had looked after me since I was very young, and I felt comfortable confiding in him.

“Yes, one of my classmates will be calling upon me soon.”

“Is this classmate a boy?”

“Yes, he is. How did you know?”

“You really are getting to be that age. It warms this old fool’s heart to know that the young mistress will have a sweetheart before she passes.”

“Sweetheart?! I-I think you’ve gotten the wrong idea. We are mere friends.”

“Is that so? You have such a look of yearning on your—oh, goodness, a guest. Excuse me, my lady.”

He left, and shortly afterwards brought a boy and a girl back with him—Mr. Noir and a beautiful half-elf. Her name was Luna, and I had met her once before. She was among the people my family sought out to lift my curse. She was a very talented cleric, but she had still been unable to help me.

“Mr. Noir? And you are…?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Noir. “I believe you’ve actually met before. She’s the person who’s going to lift your curse.”

“My name’s Luna. I’m sorry I failed before. When Sir Noir told me that your curse was going to kill you, I realized what a mistake I’d made. I hope you’ll let me help this time.”

The first time we met, she struck me as a very polite and courteous girl. It was clear why people put so much trust in her.

“You must’ve had a reason for turning me down.”

“I did. My Lift Curse skill comes at a price. The stronger the curse, the more of my lifespan it takes away to lift it.”

“Goodness! I never thought—” I shook my head. I could never ask anyone to do such a thing. Luna was a cleric, and many people needed her services. I couldn’t live with myself if she gave up her life.

But Mr. Noir smiled at me warmly. “Don’t worry. I can use my Editor skill to change the cost.”

“Exactly, Lady Maria. It won’t be a problem. Now let’s get you healed. Close your eyes.”

“V-very well.”

I did as I was asked. I could feel her touch my chest, and a gentle warmth flooded into my body.

“That should do it. It doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?”

I hadn’t noticed it until she asked, but I did feel much better. It was hard to believe that the pain had ever been there.

“It worked. The Sixteenth Year Death Curse is gone,” Mr. Noir announced.

Luna pulled me into her arms. “It must have been so hard, bearing that all alone for so long. But you’re going to be fine now.”

I still didn’t quite believe it.

“That curse won’t hurt you anymore, Lady Maria,” Mr. Noir said. “You can rest easy.”

When I saw the gentle smile on his face, I finally believed it.

“I…I…”

I wanted to thank them, but I couldn’t seem to form the words. I couldn’t even remember when I last cried so much. It might have been the first time in my life.

Even though the curse was gone, my chest hurt again. But it wasn’t a bad hurt. It was the profound ache of gratitude.